Sustainable approach for lycopene extraction from tomato processing by-product using hydrophobic eutectic solvents

Area of Science:

• Green Chemistry
• Natural Product Extraction
• Food Science

Background:

• Lycopene is a valuable antioxidant with health benefits and commercial uses.
• Traditional lycopene extraction relies on hazardous organic solvents.
• Tomato processing waste is a rich, underutilized source of lycopene.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a sustainable method for lycopene extraction from tomato waste.
• To replace hazardous organic solvents with innovative hydrophobic eutectic mixtures (HEMs).
• To evaluate the efficiency of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) using HEMs.

Main Methods:

• Hydrophobic eutectic mixtures (HEMs) were prepared using DL-menthol (HBA) and lactic acid (HBD).
• Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was employed for lycopene extraction.
• Box-Behnken design and response surface methodology were used for optimization.

Main Results:

• Optimized extraction conditions: 70°C, 8:1 HBA:HBD ratio, 120 mL/g solvent:sample, 10 min.
• Achieved an experimental optimal lycopene yield of 1446.6 µg/g dry weight.
• The model's prediction closely matched the experimental results, validating the methodology.

Conclusions:

• The developed HEM-based UAE method is a viable and sustainable approach for lycopene extraction from tomato pomace.
• This greener technique offers a high-value alternative to conventional solvent extraction.
• The study contributes to the development of environmentally friendly processes for bioactive compound recovery.